Education spending ‘worse than suggested’

IRELAND’S poor investment in education relative to other countries is actually worse than was suggested in a major comparison of international statistics published yesterday, teacher unions have claimed.

Leaders of the four teacher unions also discussed how to oppose further education cutbacks from primary up to fourth level, as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was publishing its annual Education at a Glance report.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), Irish Federation of University Teachers, Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) and Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) will meet again to organise their campaigns against staffing and other cuts.

The OECD’s collation of education statistics from more than 30 countries shows a relatively low proportion of national wealth spent on education in Ireland.

TUI general secretary Peter MacMenamin said: “The report is already a historical document as it is a snapshot of our education system in 2006 and highlights how we failed to invest in a strategic and meaningful manner when [we] were enjoying an economic boom and record budget surpluses.”

But Ireland’s performance may be still worse than indicated, as a Department of Education statement admitted it made errors in second-level data given to the OECD.

Some of the per-student spending figures are about 7% higher than they should be as a result, meaning the figure for Ireland is below the OECD average level at which it is indicated in the report.

ASTI general secretary John White pointed out that the Slovak Republic was the only EU country to spend less relative to national income on each second-level student.

“Many schools have had to drop important subjects, increase class sizes, teach higher and ordinary level students in one large class and curtail programmes such as transition year and the Leaving Certificate Applied as a direct result,” he said.

INTO incoming general secretary Sheila Nunan said primary education suffers particularly badly with €9 and €12 spent at second and third level respectively, for every €6 spent in primary schools.

Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe pointed to Ireland’s improved school completion record, higher-than-average rates of third-level qualifications among 25- to 44-year-olds and an 18% rise in education spending since 2006 to €9 billion last year.

“I would be the first to admit that there are many challenges that lie ahead for education in areas such as expenditure and class sizes,” he said.